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04 September 2012

2nd Aquatic Wildlife Rescue Manual Series Write-shop: Marine Mammals

As we mentioned in our earlier post, the SeaLifeBase Project participated in a meeting of marine mammal researchers, coordinated by the Marine Wildlife Watch of the Philippines (MWWP), to draft and publish a rescue manual for stranded marine mammals in the Philippines.

Marine mammal rescue initiatives in the Philippines started in the late 1990’s, albeit without the benefit of a standardized rescue manual. This workshop is thus responding to this need.

Philippine marine mammal researchers.

The group was composed of 16 participants from the following organizations/institutions: Silliman University, Philippine Council for Sustainable Development, MWWP, SeaLifeBase Project, Davao Bone Collector Museum, and The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources - National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (BFAR-NFRDI) and other institutions, not present, but who provided their inputs via correspondences.

Insights from field practitioners provided by representatives from Palawan, Iloilo, Dumaguete, Calatagan, and Davao, helped build a framework for rescue field procedures. This manual will hopefully be given an official government seal for distribution to users within the Philippines (identified by the MWWP). Given government and private sector support, establishing trained rescue teams in areas where marine mammals may occur is the next step.

This workshop was held in Bontocs Bed and Breakfast in Anilao, Batangas, Philippines on 22-24 August 2012.